Replacing a Broken Fan Motor for A/C

Air conditioning is a great thing, it keeps you ventilated and cool as well as saves you from having to struggle for air in a clammy room. However, if your fan motor breaks in your air conditioning unit, it will burn out pretty quickly and leave you with a really expensive job on your hands. However, any 12-Volt Fan Motor can be changed in your home fairly simply, and today we want to show you how to do that. It’s actually a lot simpler than you would think it is, if you have the right equipment and do not mind working with switches and wires. You can pick up pretty much everything that you need from tool stores like B&Q, so keep a constant eye on the condition of your fan motor to make sure it is not close to breaking, and when it is losing efficiency, it is time to fix it, which is what we want to show you how to do today. Follow this guide and you will find the art of replacing a fan motor much, much easier than you would think it is!

Turn off the power – It’s vital that you turn off all the power to the unit before you start the process. They usually come with a power button no the casing or on the wall, however if you do not have access to this or your fan can only be turned off by the power supply to your house, then turn everything off and bring a little torch with you! Although most are set up so that you can keep the rest of the power on in the house, you should only really need to turn off the power to the fan itself rather than have to turn off everything. Keep in mind this can take a little bit of time so you do not want to be turning off your fridge etc

Tidy Around

Tidy up around the area, make sure you get rid of everything around the AC – leaves, dust, debris, anything at all that is lying around nearby, then move it out of the way. You are going to need space and time to do this, so make sure you have the best work environment you can possibly give yourself for this job.

Remove the frame

Carefully proceed to remove the protective grill around the air conditioner, place it in an easy to access but out of the way location. They can usually be taken off with little problems from the four corners, for example mines just clips off at the sides, so you can usually take it off with minimum fuss.

Vacuum Time

You now want to get in about the inside of the AC, you want to get out anything that has got inside or may be cluttering, as well as clearing away any dust that built up over time. Once you have cleaned out the inside and it is looking shiny, remove the fan motor – it is usually just behind the actual fins inside the AC, and this is the best time to remove it.

Remove the wires

Once the inside has been cleaned out, you can take the fan motor out with little fuss. Hose everything down inside just to make sure it is all claen, but avoid having to tug at any of the wiring inside as this can lead to an electrical fault within the system itself, so be careful. You may need some oil-lube to get it out, but they tend to come out with relative ease.

Remove Fan Motor & Replace

You just need to remove the fan itself, taking out the wires and the bolts that held it down. Now, once you do this – you can pretty much take it as you go, it is all relatively straightforward just unplug the fan, the wiring and remove the bolts, and then when you are going to put the new fan motor, you just reverse engineer the way you took out the old fan – it’s a fairly easy process. Tighten every wire back into the new fan, fix everything back into place, put the cover back on, and switch your AC back onto the thermostat mode. Now everything should be even cooler than before, with your new fan working double-time to keep everything nice and cool!

So there you have it, a simple guide on how to remove, maintain and replace your old fan, and how to keep your AC from needing expensive repairs in the future. If you have any further questions, please contact us and we will add to this article!